Dom Luís I (31 October 1838, in

Lisbon Lisbon (; pt, Lisboa ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 544,851 within its administrative limits in an area of 100.05 km2. Lisbon's urban area extends beyond the city's administrative limits w ...

– 19 October 1889, in Cascais), known as The Popular ( Portuguese: O Popular) was a member of the ruling House of Braganza,"While remaining

patrilineal Patrilineality, also known as the male line, the spear side or agnatic kinship, is a common kinship system in which an individual's family membership derives from and is recorded through their father's lineage. It generally involves the inheritan ...

dynasts of the House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha according to pp. 88, 116 of the 1944 ''

Almanach de Gotha The ''Almanach de Gotha'' (german: Gothaischer Hofkalender) is a directory of Europe's royalty and higher nobility, also including the major governmental, military and diplomatic corps, as well as statistical data by country. First publish ...

'', Title 1, Chapter 1, Article 5 of th
1838 Portuguese constitution
declared, with respect to Ferdinand II of Portugal's issue by his first wife, that 'the Most Serene House of Braganza is the reigning house of Portugal and continues through the Person of the Lady Queen Maria II'. Thus their mutual descendants constitute the Coburg line of the House of Braganza" and

King of Portugal This is a list of Portuguese monarchs who ruled from the establishment of the Kingdom of Portugal, in 1139, to the deposition of the Portuguese monarchy and creation of the Portuguese Republic with the 5 October 1910 revolution. Through the ...

from 1861 to 1889. The second son of Queen Maria II and her consort, King Ferdinand, he acceded to the throne upon the death of his elder brother King Pedro V.

Reign

Luís was a cultured man who wrote vernacular poetry, but had no distinguishing gifts in the politics into which he was thrust by the death of his older brother

Pedro V Peter V ( pt, Pedro V ; 16 September 1837 – 11 November 1861), nicknamed "the Hopeful" ( pt, o Esperançoso), was King of Portugal from 1853 to 1861. Early life and reign As the eldest son of Maria II of Portugal, Queen Maria II and Ferdinand ...

in 1861. Luís's domestic reign was a series of transitional governments called ''Rotativism'' formed at various times by the Progressistas (Liberals) and the Regeneradores (Conservatives), the party generally favoured by King Luís, who secured their long term in office after 1881. Despite a flirtation with the Spanish succession prior to the Franco-Prussian War of 1870–71, Luís's reign was otherwise one of domestic stagnation as Portugal fell ever further behind the nations of western Europe in terms of public education, political stability, technological progress and economic prosperity. In colonial affairs, Delagoa Bay was confirmed as a Portuguese possession in 1875, whilst Belgian activities in the Congo and the 1890 British Ultimatum prevented the Portuguese from colonizing modern-day

Botswana Botswana (, ), officially the Republic of Botswana ( tn, Lefatshe la Botswana, label= Setswana, ), is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. Botswana is topographically flat, with approximately 70 percent of its territory being the Kal ...

in order to establish a link between Portuguese Angola and Portuguese Mozambique at the peak of the Scramble for Africa.

Personal interests

Luís was also very keen with literature, not only with books in Portuguese but also in English. He was the first to bring fully translated Shakespearean works to Portugal, such as ''

The Merchant of Venice ''The Merchant of Venice'' is a play by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1596 and 1598. A merchant in Venice named Antonio defaults on a large loan provided by a Jewish moneylender, Shylock. Although classified as ...

'', ''

Richard III Richard III (2 October 145222 August 1485) was King of England and Lord of Ireland from 26 June 1483 until his death in 1485. He was the last king of the House of York and the last of the Plantagenet dynasty. His defeat and death at the Bat ...

'' and '' Othello, the Moor of Venice''. His best-known work in Portugal was his translation of ''

Hamlet ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play, with 29,551 words. Set in Denmark, the play depicts ...

''.

Marriages and descendants

In June 1862, Luís asked Archduchess Maria Theresa of Austria (1845–1927), a daughter of Archduke Albert, Duke of Teschen and

Princess Hildegard of Bavaria Princess Hildegard of Bavaria ( German: ''Hildegard Luise Charlotte Theresia Friederike von Bayern''; 10 June 1825 – 2 April 1864) was the seventh child and fourth daughter of Ludwig I of Bavaria and Therese of Saxe-Hildburghausen. Life Marriag ...

, to marry him in a letter sent to her father. It was urgent for him to get married as his older brother, King

, had died in November 1861, without issue and two of his younger brothers,

João João is the Portuguese equivalent of the given name John. The diminutive is Joãozinho and the feminine is Joana. It is widespread in Portuguese-speaking countries. Notable people with the name are enumerated in the sections below. Kings ...

and Fernando, followed him shortly after, which left the Braganza dynasty almost without heirs. Luís had already selected a number of brides including Princess Marie of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen (1845-1912), sister of his late sister-in-law Stephanie, Duchess Sophie Charlotte in Bavaria (1847-1897), Princess Maria Pia of Savoy (1847-1911) and also considered some Austrian archduchesses, Maria Theresa being one of them, but didn't know which one to choose. So he sent letters to his cousin,

Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until her death in 1901. Her reign of 63 years and 216 days was longer than that of any previ ...

, and his great-uncle,

King Leopold I of Belgium * nl, Leopold Joris Christiaan Frederik * en, Leopold George Christian Frederick , image = NICAISE Leopold ANV.jpg , caption = Portrait by Nicaise de Keyser, 1856 , reign = 21 July 1831 – , predecessor = Erasme Loui ...

, to ask for their advice. Both agreed that the best choice was Maria Theresa. Thus, King Luís sent his letter. However, his wish was not fulfilled as her father, Archduke Albert, thought she was too young at the time (she was one month away from turning 17) and needed to finish her education. Two weeks after, Luís asked for the hand of Princess Maria Pia of Savoy and, this time, was accepted, even though Maria Pia, born in 1847, was even younger than Maria Theresa. 10000 Reis à l'effigie de Louis Ier, 1879

10000 Reis à l'effigie de Louis Ier, 1879

Luís married Maria Pia, the daughter of Victor Emmanuel II of Italy and Maria Adelaide of Austria, on 6 October 1862. They both had a deep love at first, but Luis's countless mistresses led Maria Pia to depression. Together they had two sons who survived childhood, and a stillborn son in 1866. * Dom Carlos, Prince Royal of Portugal (28 September 1863 – 1 February 1908), successor as King Carlos I; murdered by the

Carbonária The Carbonária was originally an anti-clerical, revolutionary, conspiratorial society, originally established in Portugal in 1822 and soon disbanded. It was allied with the Italian Carbonari. A new organization of the same name and claiming to be i ...

. * Dom Afonso, Prince Royal of Portugal (31 July 1865 – 21 February 1920), Infante of Portugal, Duke of Porto,

Viceroy A viceroy () is an official who reigns over a polity in the name of and as the representative of the monarch of the territory. The term derives from the Latin prefix ''vice-'', meaning "in the place of" and the French word ''roy'', meaning " ...

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area, the List of countries and dependencies by population, second-most populous ...

, and after 1908 Prince Royal. *

Miscarriage Miscarriage, also known in medical terms as a spontaneous abortion and pregnancy loss, is the death of an embryo or fetus before it is able to survive independently. Miscarriage before 6 weeks of gestation is defined by ESHRE as biochemica ...

or Stillborn (1866) The King also fathered one illegitimate son, also named Carlos Augusto, who was born in 1874 in Lisbon.

Honours

He received the following orders:

Ancestry

References

, - {{DEFAULTSORT:Luis 01 Of Portugal 1838 births 1889 deaths Portuguese infantes House of Braganza-Saxe-Coburg and Gotha Princes of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha Dukes of Porto 19th-century Portuguese monarchs Burials at the Monastery of São Vicente de Fora People from Lisbon People from Cascais Constables of Portugal 3 3 3 Knights Grand Cross of the Order of the Immaculate Conception of Vila Viçosa Extra Knights Companion of the Garter Knights of the Golden Fleece of Spain Grand Crosses of Naval Merit Grand Crosses of Military Merit Laureate Cross of Saint Ferdinand Recipients of the Order of the Netherlands Lion Recipients of the Order of the White Eagle (Russia) Recipients of the Order of St. Anna, 1st class Grand Crosses of the Order of Saint Stephen of Hungary Knights Grand Cross of the Order of Saints Maurice and Lazarus Recipients of the Order of the Cross of Takovo Knights of Malta Recipients of the Order of the Medjidie, 1st class Grand Crosses of the Order of Saint-Charles Grand Crosses of the Order of the Star of Romania Grand Crosses of the Order of the Crown (Romania)